Adding just a little color to any room in your home can be a small step towards BIG decorative improvements. Color has the ability to create the illusion that a room is either bigger, smaller and than it is in reality. What a powerful tool !

Before you add any color to rooms in your home, it’s important to determine what exactly you are trying to achieve and for what audience. You’re going to want to take into account your social experiences, especially if you enjoy hosting many guests at one time on a regular basis. Similarly, it’s important to factor children or teenagers into the equation because these age groups usually call for décor with a bit more durability and vibrancy.

Funny enough, the same rules apply when you are looking to pick paint colors for your ceiling. While it might not be the first paintable space that comes to mind, painting your ceiling can give any room an entirely new dimension and overall feel.

The following are a few things to consider when you’re getting ready to paint high above your head in the home:

Leaning Towards Light Color Tones

While you’re ultimately free to paint your ceiling any hue or tone you want, it’s beneficial to consider the surrounding room before you actually apply the paint. Going back to the illusion factor, if you are looking to paint a rather large ceiling that covers a room that already has darker walls, then using a light tone can actually make the ceiling appear higher, giving the room a large expansive feel.

Additionally, it can help balance out dark colors that have been used elsewhere and create a calming effect. Guests and family alike might not even be able to place their finger on what exactly brings the room together unless they look up, but they’ll quickly and naturally understand that it’s visually pleasing. If your ceiling is textured, light tones are also a great choice as they have a tendency to compliment the rough patterns without taking away from them.

Believe it or not, pale blue ceilings can be a wonderful color option! Take a look at the room in the image below, its pale blue ceiling brightens up this small space.

A ceiling painted in a pretty neutral can drastically brighten a small space. Image Source: The Decorologist

Daring and Dark Ceiling Colors

On the other side of the decorative coin, rooms that have been done in neutral tones in order to create a wider sense of space are perfect for darker colored ceilings.

Don’t worry—Because of the floor to ceiling distance, a darker ceiling in a light room won’t necessarily take away from the illusion of space, but might become a visual centerpiece that’s bold and beautiful.

That being said, a ceiling painted in a dark or bold color should definitely be applied to ceilings that are higher than 8-feet tall. A dark ceiling that’s also low can be a heavy interior choice that you may want to avoid.

The dark ceiling in the image below works perfectly thanks to the ceiling height and large windows. What amazing drama it creates!

Creating Colorful Ceilings For The Kids

When it comes to fancying up a room for children, it’s easy to get excited in the creative possibilities. When you’re putting that genius to good use, don’t forget that the ceiling is an open canvas for fun ideas with paint.

This is an opportunity to have fun painting in a place kids definitely won’t be able to reach or color on—but they’ll absolutely enjoy looking at! Painting a kid’s ceiling is an exercise in dimension and color. Try adding two-toned stripes in pastels to keep the space open, but add a youthful flair.

If you’re going for a more naturally appealing theme, sponge paint white clouds on a blue background and turn that ceiling into the sky itself! If you’re thinking of adding glow in the dark stars or wall stickers to the ceiling just a word to the wise: make sure your newly applied paint is 100% dry or you may end up with a more permanent fixture than you ever intended.

Making a Ceiling Mural

If you’re feeling very bold, a mural painted on the ceiling is not out of reach. Whether you have a professional do it, or give your own hand a try, a mural painted on a ceiling that covers a room for hosting large parties can be an elegant conversation starter.

Imagine offering your visitors the experience of entering the historical Sistine Chapel ! While we all can’t be Michelangelo and paint the Creation of Adam on our ceilings, we can buy replicas—there are amazing ceiling murals for purchase that actually peel and stick on your walls, ones that replicate museum-quality art.

If you have the space, don’t be afraid to give a mural a chance and see your ceiling come to life as a complete work of art.

No matter which direction you decide to go, adding some paint and color to your ceiling is a detail-oriented task that leads to big aesthetic changes.

Friends and family alike will be drawn back time and again. When they ask what it is you changed, they’ll only have to look up to find the answer. Dare to be bold by painting your dining room ceiling a dark hue, or offset those dark walls with a light ceiling color that opens up your space.